


Altitude

by MorbidOptimist



Category: Teen Titans - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Crack, F/F, Hot Air Balloons, Sky Pirates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-24
Updated: 2019-05-24
Packaged: 2020-03-10 01:15:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18928342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MorbidOptimist/pseuds/MorbidOptimist
Summary: Jump City hosts its annual hot air balloon festival for the first time!What should have been a fun festival excursion brings Robin to the brink & Raven to the railing; faced with bandits and facades of the past, she quickly learns that there's no rules at her altitude.Expect to Win, at any cost.





	Altitude

**Author's Note:**

  * For [amorea (executivecodearbitration)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/executivecodearbitration/gifts).



The announcements had flooded over every screen and newsprint in the city for weeks; the idea seemed a novel one, if a little bit frivolous. 

Still, the city had apparently decided that its tourist industry had been in need of some padding, and some sort of silly tradition to call its own. 

Starfire, of course, had insisted they go. 

Robin also wanted to attend the event as a matter of support to the mayor, and while herself and Beast Boy had little interest in the balloons themselves, Cyborg's pep talks about the multitude of food carts catering the event won them over well enough.

The early morning was a touch overcast, leading to small concerns of rain; everyone hoped that wishing for clearer skies as they helped to set-up would keep any raindrops at bay.

By the time the balloons had been filled the first of the visitors started to arrive and congregate, some of them with balloons or other flight-toys of their own, with vendors and foodtrucks quickly joining in after. 

The sun was bright and the crowd was thick, when the Mayor offered a speech; the crowd cheered as he cut the ribbon to the city's official balloon. 

The mayor offered them to join the first ride.

Starfire eagerly accepted, Robin stepping in after her; Raven stayed back to watch as one by one, all the other balloons soon took to the skies. 

The giant, colorful floating shapes were somewhat mellowing to watch from below; Beast Boy and Cyborg were quickly lost in the crowds, though the realization had been an expected outcome.

Gingerly, she took her time walking about the various tents and tailbeds where thrifty attendees displayed wares and novelties of all kinds to procure.

Some of the trinkets and instruments she found interesting; she was often awed over craftsmanship and simple ingenuity. 

Lacking anything to actually purchase anything with, she was content to drift between stands although occasionally, a vendor looking for promotion or grateful citizen gifted her with a freebie or a calling card.  

She kept note of the City's balloon as she went; by the time it drifted down to land safely among a throng of eager observers, Raven was just before Robin's staggering exit from the basket. She, unlike the crowd surrounding them, was shocked at her leader's state. 

He looked haggard, paranoid, and grim.

Before she could open her mouth, the boy lifted himself off the ground enough to grab her arm and hoist himself to his feet. 

"I am _never_ doing that again," Robin groaned; "We ran out of food in the first _hour._ "

Raven directed her gaze behind the boy, to the mayor and his cameraman and the vacant place Starfire should have been.

"-The first time I have 'fun' in months and it hurt _every bone_ in my _body_ ," he continued mournfully. 

"What's it like up there?" she asked, unable to help herself as she studied the balloon.

"It's like the _Wild West_ or something," Robin answered regrettably, "When you get to five thousand feet in the air there's no laws anymore!" 

"Are you implying there's sky pirates and space-poker up there?" she chided, brushing off her shoulders. 

Robin scowled. 

"They almost threw us out of the basket," he griped, pulling away; "I fought _three_ different people who tried to commandeer our balloon!" 

Raven's shoulders started to firm as the weight of Robin's seriousness impressed her enough to dismiss her previous levity. 

"What happened up there?" asked a braver soul from the crowd, a phone recording the proceedings. 

Robin shook his head and pushed at the air before him, his apparent rage at the situation frightening her; "I don't want to relive what happened up there. You're never going to hear a story from me, and you're never going to hear what happened on those, those _ships-"_

"Robin," Raven warned, pulling him away. 

She led him quickly through the paths of people until they came to a secluded area near the back of the porta-johns; she'd made note of the crowd's avoidance of the area some hours earlier.

"Tell me," she insisted; "If there's a problem up there, we need to address it."   

He shook his head again, looking more defeated than she'd seen him in a long time. 

"It's like five thousand years in the past up there," he lamented, "There's people looking for gold and shit up there; boarding vessels. -The pirate tried to make me walk the plank! She put a plank in my boat!" 

Raven's brows knit, her face belying her concern. 

"Do you mean _actual_ pirates?" she pressed; "Are you exaggerating or is there some kind of time wormhole up there?" 

"All I know is that I was up there for _weeks_ ," he groaned; "And I'm never letting Kori drag me up there again."  

The boy shuddered and mimed dusting himself as he started to disengage from the conversation; "I'll be in the car," he barked lowly, his head hung in exhaustion. 

Raven watched him retreat with a mix of curiosity and care; the boy's affinity to flare was something of an endearing trait, but also proved conflicting in cases such as these. 

She supposed a trip to the wild blue yonder herself was in order, in order to figure out more.

  


End file.
